Advantages of an in-line /straight

Packing cylinders in an engines is the trickiest part. One has to balance the need for power Vs torque while deciding on an engine assembly format. Longer stokes delivers higher torque while shorter strokes are preferred for HP.

What are the advantages of an in-line/straight engines?

Let's start from the starting. Engine cylinders can be laid in different formats, however, the most popular ones are in-line/straight or V shape assembly of cylinders in the engine. Other assemblies are Rotaries, Flat/Horizontal/Boxter.

In in-line/straight format all cylinders are laid in a line beside each other, whereas in V format they assembly forms a V shape. Both formats have their advantages and disadvantages. BMW's prefers an in-line cylinder format even when the nos of cylinders in the engine are 6 or more. In-lines are suited more for RWD as they would create torque issues in FWD. RWD's depicts much better road handling characteristics. Other manufacturers prefer the V format.